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Episode 376: Listener-Selected Listener Emails
Date January 31, 2014 Summary Ben, Sam, and special guest Ryan Sullivan answer listener emails about instant replay, roster changes, shortening the lineup, Seinfeld, and more. Topics * Position players pitching * Managers optimizing use of instant replay * Grant Balfour and unwritten rules * Changing roster size and rules * Episode 374 follow-up: how to improve baseball * College baseball * Excitement in minor league baseball * Parity * Favorite Seinfeld episodes * Teams from players at one position * Playing with eight players Intro The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Sound Clip Outro Episode outtake sound clip Banter At a SABR Seminar auction Ryan won the bid to help host an Effectively Wild email show. Email Questions * Brady: "When a pitcher comes up to hit why don't managers have their least valuable position player on the diamond come and pitch to him? From the additional pitchers saved the pitcher might be able to throw to another batter or two, what do you think?" * Matt: "How much more important do you think that this replay makes a good SABR-savvy manager? I know the number of plays this will impact is relatively small but you just know at some point that Ned Yost will challenge a Salvador Perez blooper turned from a flyout into a single so that Alcides Escobar can bat with two outs and Perez on first. The Cubs put a member of their front office on the bench next to new manager Rick Renteria and one of their coaches is a catching and strategy coach. Are more teams going to populate staffs with guys who can tell a manager when a moment is really important now that another opportunity for the manager to impact the game that way has been invented?" * Matt: "Grant Balfour hit just one batter the past four seasons facing 1,015 batters. So, will he hit an Oriole in 2014? If he does, does he have a leg to stand on within the 'code' even if there's the presumption that he did it with intent? And if he does would you consider him a monster, a stud, or a fool if he did hit someone. And let's presume he doesn't hit someone in a way that obviously costs his team a game." * Steven: "To get both AL and NL back to playing the same kind of baseball, what if the game were played by NL rules and the rosters were expanded by two players, but with no DH? Now a manager can choose to let a pitcher bat or pinch hit for the pitcher however the pitcher does not have to leave the game when hit for, and each pinch hitter can hit only once and is then out of the game. So the manager's decision on pitching changes becomes like the AL and decisions on whether to have the pitcher are based on game situation and available pinch hitters. In effect, this provides an expanded bench allowing more pinch hitting without pitchers leaving the game, but pinch hitting for a non-pitcher would remain as it is now and more substitutions/playing time options. * Brendan: "1) College baseball: dramatically increase interest by moving to wooden bats . The college game just needs to appeal more to existing baseball fans and baseball fans love the wooden bat game. Easy fix. 2) Minor league baseball games need to become more meaningful, small communities need to feel like their team is playing for some kind of truly meaningful championship. 3) Increased parity in the game * Brady: "What's your favorite Seinfeld episode?" * David: "Sam, you're the owner of a baseball team and your player pool is the thirty starting catchers in major league baseball. Ben, your team is comprised of thirty MLB starting first basemen. Your two teams are going to play each other in a series; I'd like to hear you construct your teams with these players. Assign positions to each of them, you don't have to worry about pitcher." * Eric: "Would it ever be worth it for a team to play with eight men on the field to shorten the lineup?" Notes * Based on a question Ben got in a BP chat, Sam is worried that he is becoming the heel of the show. * Sam is not sure if expanding rosters but removing the DH would actually result in any current players being dropped from rosters. * Sam: "Oh oh, Ben, you've done it. You've shared an opinion about the DH. We made it 376 episodes." * Ben's favorite Seinfeld episode is 'The Merv Griffin Show'. Ryan's favorite one is 'The Airport'. Sam has seen very few episodes of Seinfeld. * Ben & Sam think a team of all first basemen would have the advantage over an all catcher team. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 376: Listener-Selected Listener Emails * Nats GM blog by Ryan Sullivan Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes Category:Email Episodes